With a bigger crop expected this year, technology aids New York apple grower
The New York apple crop outlook is positive in early May, and new technology in the fields is helping estimate its potential, one major shipper reports.
“With relatively moderate conditions this winter and no harsh temperatures or frost in the spring, we are seeing trees full of buds that are ready to go into all-out bloom in a few weeks,” Justin Whipple, United Apple Sales procurement and operations manager, said in a news release. “We believe this year’s crop will rebound with a larger volume of fruit and provide another season of high-quality and flavorful varieties.”
Lyndonville, N.Y.-based United Apple anticipates Eastern varieties of cortland and macintosh, as well as mainline varietals of fuji, gala, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and red delicious, will be in good supply, according to the release. Club varieties — EverCrisp, RubyFrost and SnapDragon — should see bigger crop volumes this season as young trees are maturing and producing more fruit, the release said.
Investment in new technology
United Apple President Brett Baker said United Apple is actively involved with several pilot programs to bring in technology and gain more control over the fluctuations in a crop, improve the health of the trees and enhance the overall crop production.
“Our objective is to utilize software and technology-supported equipment to assess growth rates and develop more accurate yield predictions,” he said in the release.
In particular, United Apple is one of the growers in a beta test with Vivid Machines, an 18-month-old startup firm that has developed vision system technology to precisely monitor orchards, the release said.
The tool uses machine vision to capture chemical and physical profiles of every plant it encounters across an entire orchard, the release said.
“One of the challenges expressed by growers is that there still is a lot of manual time measuring and counting blossoms, fruitlets and apples, which is not only time-consuming, but it is subject to inconsistencies and different views depending on the staff input,” Jenny Lemieux, co-developer of the software and imaging sensor, said in the release.
The current Vivid Machine system includes a mountable camera that can move at tractor speed, examine trees, review blossom clusters and measure apples, Lemieux said in the release. “Growers can see this information and filter the data by variety, block, date and other factors to get a very granular view of their orchards and how they may change over time.”
Baker said in the release that the the tool can reduce the use of materials, save water, lessen soil compaction and cut back on fuel use and emissions. “It also reduces time for staff in working with sprays and allows us to focus on other areas of managing orchards and new varieties,” Baker said in the release.
